Have you visited Gloucester Green market recently? If so, you’ll know it has been transformed on Thursdays and Saturdays into a foodie haven.

Where once we counted ourselves lucky to find a vaguely edible burger, shoppers can now take a break from browsing for curios by feasting on delights from China, Vietnam, Spain and the Middle East. Most stalls are so good they put the average food festival to shame, and all are more than happy to give out free tasters.

A favourite is Ceylon Spicy, at which Deepa and Patrick Fernando serve Sri Lankan curries and other delights.

Unable to walk past their stall after the offer of a spoonful of chilli chicken, I was talked into ordering a portion of pad Thai. Now, Sri Lanka is a long way from Thailand, and most pad Thai cooked by non-Thais is, I am afraid to say, wrong. However, a scan of the ingredients showed this was going to be pretty authentic, and it didn’t disappoint, being almost as good as anything I’ve eaten in Siam.

Watching Deepa prepare it from scratch also served as a great cookery lesson – though she guards the secret ingredients of her tamarind cooking sauce.

Cooked with either vegetables, seafood (though they had sold out on my late afternoon visit), regular cubes of chicken, or, for an extra £1, that mouth-watering chilli chicken, the combination of soft rice-noodles, egg and beansprouts is a hefty eat, the use of tamarind, chilli, soy and garlic paste giving it a sweet, tangy, spicy, though not fiery, bite. It is good value at £5, and the Fernandos claim to be attentive to those with a gluten intolerance.

For something more authentically Sri Lankan, try their dhal, beetroot, pumpkin, lamb or chicken curry, all cooked with coconut milk and served on plain rice (also a fiver) – or, for a pick-me-up, steel yourself for some of that addictive hot chilli chicken.